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Wednesday, 5 September 2012

Apple pie

You have to start somewhere
and this seems like a good place.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the United States over the years and perhaps this is
why. Pie is uniquely American and
comes in as many varieties as there are states in the union, maybe more. Over the years, I’ve tried to sample as
many as possible and been shuttled around by various friends and family (good
sports, all, particularly the gluten intolerant ones) in my pursuit of the
perfect slice. The truth is I like
them all – marionberry, rhubarb and strawberry, blackberry, apple, key lime,
cherry, loganberry, pecan, peach, blueberry, lemon meringue…. though I think they always taste best
when consumed with a bottomless cup of stale coffee in a dingy diner on the
side of a highway. On a rainy
day.

Generally, I enjoy eating
pie more than I enjoy making pie.
This is largely due to my crust rolling technique, or more precisely,
lack thereof. No matter how many
online tutorials I watch or tips I read in recipe books, I never seem to be
able to roll out pie dough without swearing as I watch it spread into a shape
that in no way resembles a perfect round.
Each time, I manage to piece it together into a sort of crazy
frankenpie, and somehow in the baking process it magically transforms into a
smooth, perfect whole, making me forget all the pain I went through in its
construction.

A gift given to me on my
last trip to the US was Adrienne Kane’s opus The United States of Pie. This
apple pie is the first recipe in the book. By the time I get to the last I hope to have conquered the
crust, once and for all.

Standard pie dough

The taste of this crust far
surpassed any I’d made before. I
think this is due to the presence of vegetable shortening, something I’d
previously sneered at but, after a slice of this pie, will never do again.

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt (I
used Maldon)

6 tablespoons unsalted
butter, chilled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

6 tablespoons vegetable
shortening, chilled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

6-10 tablespoons ice water

In a large bowl, whisk
together the flour, sugar and salt, until well blended and free of lumps. Add the butter and the shortening and
toss gently to coat. With your
fingertips, work the fats into the flour, rubbing the larger pieces of butter
and shortening between your fingers until the mixture resembles gravel (I did this in the food processor).

Sprinkle on the water, one
tablespoon at a time, starting with a total of three tablespoons and then
gradually adding more water if needed.
As you add the water, blend it in with your fingertips, as quickly as
possible, pulling the mixture together and creating a dough. The dough will become less sticky and
more of a mass when enough water has been added. (Again, all this can be done in the food processor) Finally, knead the dough minimally in
the bowl to make sure it has just enough moisture.

Divide the dough in
half. Place each half on a sheet
of plastic wrap and seal it.
Gently form each one into a disk roughly 3/4 inch thick. Place the wrapped dough in the
refrigerator and leave it for at least one hour, or up to two days, before
rolling it out. The dough can be
frozen for up to one month and defrosted in the refrigerator before using.

In a large bowl, gently toss
the apple slices with the lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt,
flour and brandy until thoroughly well mixed. Set aside.

On a well-floured surface,
roll out one portion of the dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick and will fit
a 9 inch pie plate. Gently pick up
the dough, centre it over the pie plate, and ease it onto the plate. Let the excess dough hang over the
rim. Pour in the filling and
spread it out evenly. Dot the
apple mixture with the butter.

Roll out the second portion
of dough to the same size. Lay the dough over the filling. Trim the edges of both layers of dough
to leave a 1-inch overhang.
Pressing the edges together, fold them under, and then decoratively
crimp the perimeter. With a sharp
knife, cut 5 vents in the top crust.

For a lovely sheen on the
baked pie, use a pastry brush to paint the surface with the cream. If you like, sprinkle the sugar over
the cream.

Bake the pie for 15
minutes. Then reduce the heat to
375 and continue baking for 45 to 50 minutes, until the crust is golden
brown. Let the pie cool to room
temperature before enjoying.

1 comment:

Luckily, making a pie doesn't take as long as writing a screenplay. I can personally vouch for this apple pie – I've tasted it and can highly recommend it. I would say that it's the Roman Polanksi of pie.